Mail-crane.



e. L. GRAHAM.

MAIL CRANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAHA, 1912. 1,023,202, Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

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'ratus and more GEORGE L. GRAHAM, OF FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

MAIL-CRANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

Application filed January 4, 1912. Serial No. 669,305.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, GEORGE L. GRAHAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Florence, in the county of Florence and State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Cranes, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in a mail bagdelivery appaparticularly to an improved mail crane, and my object is toprovide a device of this character which, after delivering the mail bagto the moving train, will be ineffectively disposed to eliminate anypossible danger which mi ht ordinarily occur from the positioning 0? thesame permanently in its effective position.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a base member anda movable member, said movable member being capable of both vertical androtative movement in said base member, and a still further objectresides in providing a device which consists of few and simple partswhich may be readily and easily adjusted.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a device, the partsof which are interchangeable, whereby the same may be readily repairedshould necessity require the same, and a still further object resides inproviding a device which is extremely simple and durable inconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture, and onewhich is very efiicientin carrying out the purposes for which the same is designed.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists'in the novelfeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as willbe hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in thespecification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, Figure 1is a perspective view of the device set up for operation, and, Fig. 2 isa vertical section through the device showing the movable member in itslowered position and also showing in dotted lines the disposition ofsaid movable member in its raised position.

In carrying out my invention, I shall refer to the drawing in whichsimilar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views and in which 1 indicates a tubular member formedpreferably of metal, the lower portion of which is closed and adapted tobe securely mounted in the ground adjacent the track, while the upperend thereof is open, the edges of the same being beveled or inclined toone side, as shown at 2, said inclined or beveled edges terminating attheir lower ends in a vertical slot 3 in the side of the member 1. Theupper edge of the member 1 at the highest point of elevation, isprovided with a notch or the like 4, and slidably mounted in the member1, is a standard 5, the diameter of which is smaller than the innerdiameter of the tubular member 1, but which is provided at its extremelower end and at a point intermediate of its length, with a collar 6which properly guides the member 5 in the member 1 and permits frictionbetween the members 1 and 5 at these two points only. The member 5 istapered toward its free end, and said free end is bent or curved in onedirection, as shown at 7, to form one arm of the mail delivering crane,and an additional arm 8 having a collar 9 at the one end thereof, ispassed over the free end of the member 5 to be alincd below the curvedarm 7 and against the retaining shoulder or the like 10.

It has been stated that the member 5 is slidably arranged in the tubularmember 1, but it will also be appreciated that the same is rotatablydisposed therein, and in order to retain said member raised so that thearms 7 and 8 will be disposed outwardly and in a position to retain amail sack for delivery to a moving train, a lateral lug 11 is providedon said member 5 which is disposed in the same direction as and inalinement below the arms 7 and 8. Thus, it will be seen that the membermay be raised and turned so that the lug 11 rests in the notch 4 at thehighest point of elevation on the member 1, and this member 5 will beheld in such position until such time as the lug is removed from saidnotch, whereupon said lug will be guided along one of the inclinedsurfaces 2 to the vertical slot 3, thereby permitting the arm 5 to belowered and rotated simultaneously. In its raised position, the member 5is adapted to carry a mail sack between the arms 7 and 8 thereof, and itwill be appreciated that the moment the bag is grabbed by the arms froma moving train, the force will be sufficiently great to remove the lug11 from its engagement with the notch and permit the member 5 to besimultaneously lowered and rotated, and in order to prevent anyunnecessary jar and contact between the lower'end of the member 1 andthe lower end of the member 5, a coil spring 12 is provided in the lowerend of said member 1.

In practice, the base tubular member 1 is mounted in the ground adjacenta railway track so that the slot 3 is disposed away from the rails,thereby positioning the notch 4 in the highest point of elevationthereon to the side immediately adjacent said rails, and after a mailbag has been placed between the arms 7 and 8, which may be accomplishedin any approved manner, the member or standard 5 may be raised by theoperator. The raising act-ion may be accomplished by the operator merelygrasping the lug 11 which projects through the slot 3 when the device isin its lowered position and guiding the same along the inclined surface2 until said lug enters the notch 4. at which time, the member 5 willremain in its raised position and such action will dispose the arms 7and 8 out \vardly toward the track and in a position whereby the movingtrain may readily grasp the mail bag held between the arms. It will beappreciated that this tubular base member 1 may be of such height as topermit the man of average height to readily dispose the member 5 in itsraised position without the use of a ladder or other means for thepurpose, and as the train passes by, the usual or any approved catchingapparatus which it may have, will engage the mail bag between the arms 7and 8 and remove the same therefrom, the force of the impact beingsufficient to remove the lug 11 from its seat in the notch and causingthe same to be guided along one of the inclined surfaces 2 into the slot3. It is obvious that as the. lug 11 is guided along this surface to theslot, the member 5 will be lowered and simultaneously rotated, and assaid member drops by gravity to its lowermost position, the lower end ofthe same will contact with the coil spring in the bottom of the member 1to prevent the undue impact between the two, thus preserving the partsof the device against breakage and undue injury.

From the forcgoing. it will be seen that I have provided an improvedmail crane which is adapted to be automatically disposed to an operativeand ineffective position, after the mail bag has been once removedtherefrom by a moving object, whereby all possible danger to passengersand workmen of the train from the pro jection of the arms of the crane,will be ob viated.

It will further be seen that I have provided a device which comprises amovable standard which is adapted to be rotated and loweredsimultaneously after the mail bag has been removed therefrom by themoving train, and it will still further be seen that the device consistsof few and simple parts easily adjusted and which may be readily removedfor repair, when desired.

It will still further be seen that the device is one which is verysimple and durable in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and onewhich is very efiicient and useful in operation.

While I have particularly described the elements which are most welladapted to perform the functions which are set forth, it is obvious thatvarious changes in form, proportion and in the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any ofthe principles of the invention.

What I claim is 1. A mail crane, comprising a tubular member havingdescending upper edges thereon and provided with a vertical slottherein, said descending edges approaching the slot from oppositedirections and terminating therein at the upper end of the same, anadditional member slidably arranged in said tubular member and adaptedto carry a mail bag, means carried on said additional member cooperatingwith said descending edges to raise and lower said additional member,and means to retain said additional member in its raised position.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a tubularmember having descending upper edges thereon which terminate in avertical slot therein, the high est point of elevation on the upper edgeof said member being provided with a notch; of an additional memberslidably arranged in said tubular member, means carried on saidadditional member adapted to be guided along said descending edge of thetubular member to raise and lower said additional member, said lug beingalso adapted to cooperate with the notch to retain said additionalmember in its raised position. and a cushioning means carried in thebottom of said tubular member 3. In a device of the class described, thecombination with a tubular member having descending upper edges thereonwhich tci minate in a vertical slot in the side thereof, the highestpoint of elevation on the upper edge of'said tubular member beingprovided with a notch; of a post slidably ar In testimony whereof Ihereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

GEORGE L. GRAHAM.

Witnesses J. W. CARY,

EDWIN STERNBERGER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0."

